Torsten Peter Vahl, MD

Dr. Bret Taback is a nationally recognized surgical oncologist in the New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center department of surgery. Dr. Taback is a leader in the clinical management of melanoma, sarcoma and skin/soft tissue tumor surgery. Dr. Taback is the Director of the Melanoma and Sarcoma Program and Director of the Breast Surgery Fellowship. Dr. Taback received his MD degree at Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston , and completed his general surgery residency at Brown University, Rhode Island Hospital. During that time he completed a Basic Science Research Fellowship at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School in Boston. Following this, he completed a fellowship in Complex Surgical Oncology at the John Wayne Cancer Institute, Santa Monica, California. Dr. Taback is a member of a number of organizations and societies including Society of Surgical Oncology, American Society of Clinical Oncology and the American Association for Cancer Research. He is also a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. He has published and authored numerous peer review manuscripts, abstracts and presentations, as well as book chapters over the years in notable publications such as Annals of Surgery, Annals of Surgical Oncology, Cancer Research, Clinical Cancer Research and the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. He is a clinical investigator with SWOG and Alliance for clinical trials. Dr. Taback has served on numerous hospital committees including tumor boards, Institutional Review Boards, Oncology Operations Council and is the American College of Surgeon’s Commission on Cancer Physician Liaison for NYP Hospital. Most recently, Dr. Taback is a noted Castle Connolly Top Doctor.

Martin B. Leon, MD, is a distinguished medical professional with a significant presence in the field of interventional cardiovascular medicine. Currently, he holds the position of Professor of Medicine at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, and previously served as the Director of the Columbia Interventional Cardiovascular Care until July 2023. Presently, he fulfills the role of Chief Innovation Officer and the Director of the Cardiovascular Data Science Center for the Division of Cardiology. Dr. Leon actively practices as an interventional cardiologist at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital in New York City. Furthermore, he is recognized as the Founder and Chairman Emeritus of the Cardiovascular Research Foundation.Throughout his career, Dr. Leon has played a pivotal role in shaping the field of interventional cardiovascular medicine through his involvement in over 50 clinical trials. Some notable studies include STRESS, STARS, Gamma-one, SIRIUS, ENDEAVOR, and the recent PARTNER trial, which focuses on evaluating the efficacy of transcatheter valve therapy for individuals with aortic stenosis. With an impressive portfolio of contributions, Dr. Leon has co-authored over 1550 publications and has performed more than 10,000 interventional procedures. His visionary leadership and innovative mindset have solidified his standing as a thought-leader in the expanding sub-specialty of interventional cardiovascular device and drug therapies.Dr. Leon is the esteemed Director and Founder of Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT), the preeminent global conference dedicated to interventional cardiovascular medicine. Recently celebrating its 35th anniversary, TCT continues to be at the forefront of advancing knowledge in this field. Additionally, he has directed or co-directed over 100 international educational programs focused on interventional cardiology. Dr. Leon's significant contributions to the medical community have been recognized with 10 international career achievement awards, and he has been awarded an honorary degree from the University of Athens.In his earlier roles, Dr. Leon served as the Director of Cardiovascular Research and Education at the Lenox Hill Heart and Vascular Institute in New York. Prior to that, he held the position of Director of Clinical Research at the Washington Cardiology Center, based at the Washington Hospital Center, and served as a Clinical Professor of Medicine at Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington, DC. Early in his career, he played instrumental roles as a Clinical Associate, Senior Investigator, and Director of the Catheterization Laboratories in the Cardiology Branch of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD. He was also involved in founding the Washington Cardiology Center and the Cardiology Research Foundation in Washington, DC.Dr. Leon completed his Cardiology fellowship at Yale-New Haven Hospital, following his medical education at the Yale School of Medicine. He further pursued his internship and residency in internal medicine at the Yale-New Haven Hospital.

For over 20 years Dr. Matushansky’s clinical practice has focused exclusively on the treatment and care of patients with sarcomas (i.e., cancers of musculoskeletal origins) and/or sarcoma related diseases. Dr. Matushansky earned a BA degree from Columbia College, Columbia University and MD & PhD degrees from Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He performed his internal medicine residency at New York Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center and then completed a fellowship in Medical Oncology, as well as a post-doctoral research fellowship in Cancer Biology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.